


Matchmaking Mabari

by LeannieBananie



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Dogs, Dogs on Deployment, F/M, Mabari Warhound, Military
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-18
Updated: 2015-07-10
Packaged: 2018-04-04 23:43:58
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4157448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeannieBananie/pseuds/LeannieBananie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Major Cullen Rutherford is deploying and needs an experienced dog sitter for his Mabari, Wolfwood. Ember Trevelyan answers his advertisement and the two become friends, but with the interference of one mischievous Mabari, they might just become more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not entirely satisfied with this. It seems a little choppy, but I'm just going to pick at it until there is nothing left, so here it is.

**To: Cullen S. Rutherford**  
**Subject: Wolfwood, Dogs on Deployment**

Hi! My name is Ember Trevelyan and I’m contacting you about your listing on the Dogs on Deployment site. I understand that you’re looking for someone to watch your Mabari Hound Wolfwood for a 12 month tour to Nevarra and I’m interested. In your listing you mentioned you wanted someone with Mabari experience. I've grown up with them and my own Mabari Cello passed away almost a year ago. My house is too quiet now and I thought that this would be a good way to help someone who needs it and to liven up my house all at the same time. So don’t worry, I do know what I’m getting myself into!

If you’re interested we could set up a few meet and greets and see where it goes. You can also come check out my house and ask me any questions you may have. Feel free to email me and we can set up a day and time if you want! I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,  
Ember Trevelyan

**To: Ember Trevelyan  
** **Subject: Re: Wolfwood, Dogs on Deployment**

Ms. Trevelyan,  
I would be interested in meeting with you. I haven’t had much luck finding anyone with Mabari experience, though I am sorry to hear about Cello. I’m free anytime the next two weekends for us to meet. I’ve attached my contact information, please call and we can discuss the particulars. 

Thank you,  
Cullen S. Rutherford

At the sound of the doorbell Ember leapt up and hurried towards the noise. She pulled it open and smiled brightly at the tall man standing awkwardly on her step, twisting the end of a leather leash in his hands. Sitting politely at his heel was a dark brown Mabari Hound with striking black color points, its ears perked in interest and his head cocked as he surveyed her quizzically. Ember smiled at him too, which earned her a toothy canine grin, and then stuck out her hand towards his human,

“Hi, you must be Cullen. I’m Ember, it’s nice to finally put a face to the voice.” And what a face it was. Ember had been expecting a 19 year old, with a stereotypical buzz-cut and an ill-mannered dog that he could barely handle. The reality was something far different.

He was older, early thirties at least, tall and absolutely _delicious_ , she thought. Cullen was casually, but meticulously dressed; dark denim jeans, some sort of sneaker, and a long-sleeved burgundy Henley that was filled out by toned, broad shoulders. His jeans highlighted his well-muscled thighs, they stretched the dark material tight and hugged the delectable curve of his ass. Blond hair was shoved off his forehead and smoothed back, longer than what you would usually find on a military man, but still short enough that it was within regulations. With his hair out of the way her eyes fell to the shadow of blond stubble across his cheek, its prickly texture and the scar about his lip, tempting her fingertips. Forcibly tearing her eyes away, she noticed the gold and red tattoo, an Andrastian chantry sunburst maybe, peeking out from under his shirt on his neck. Ember was snapped out of her shameless gawking by the sound of him clearing his throat nervously and rubbing across the tattoo she had just been admiring.

“This is Wolfwood.” He motioned down to the dog at his feet, who was busy flicking his gaze between the two humans, an undoubtedly devious expression on his face. Mabari’s were known for being highly intelligent with exceptionally expressive faces and this one in particular looked remarkably sly as he observed them both. 

Wolfwood frowned as he stared at them and he sniffed indelicately at the air, taking in a variety of scents and the tension vibrating the air. He knew there was _something_ there, something that had nothing to do with him and everything to do with the two people in front of him. His furry brow scrunched in concentration as he tried to put the pieces together, but he was missing something important and that vexed him. Watching Wolfwood’s keen eyes examine them, Ember decided that Wolfwood looked like nothing but a mischievous troublemaker and that she was absolutely going to love him.

. . . .

An hour later Cullen unsuccessfully tried to turn his thoughts away from Ember’s perfectly rounded ass as he climbed into his truck. Instead he looked expectantly at Wolfwood who merely eyed Cullen with what could only be called a knowing smirk and arched eyebrows. Cullen blushed faintly, but ignored his dog’s pointed stare and asked,

“Well? What did you think?” Wolfwood barked enthusiastically, while his face split into a wide grin and his tail thumped relentlessly against the seat.

“That’s what I thought too, but I want you to be absolutely sure about this.” Cullen cautioned, while digging his keys out of his pocket. Wolfwood seemed to bob his head in agreement and let out a little huff of displeasure. “You know I would bring you with me if I could, but you definitely do not fit into a duffel bag bud.” Wolfwood grumbled, then snuggled into Cullen’s side as he started his truck and backed out of the drive, his free hand dropping to stroke the dog’s pointy ears. Wolfwood interrupted the touch by pressing a cold nose against Cullen’s wrist.

“What?” Another prod accompanied by a pitiful whine. “Do _not_ look at me that way.” There came the sound of his tail wagging vigorously and another whine. Cullen didn’t bother taking his eyes off the road, when he replied. “I know exactly what you’re thinking and no, it’s not happening.” 

That earned Cullen a disgruntled growl as a big head bumped against his arm again, and then a questioning yip with teeth nibbling at his arm. Cullen glanced at the dog with an exasperated expression, noting the satisfied grin on Wolfwood’s face.

“You know people would think I’m crazy for how I talk to you.” The dog just stared intently up at him, clearly unimpressed with his attempt at changing the subject. “Fine, yes I think she’s cute, but I’m _not_ going to date your sitter.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor dialogue spoilers, mostly paraphrasing with a few direct quotes.
> 
> Let me know if you see any mistakes. Thank you!

_8 Months Later_

Ember snuggled under the blanket on her couch, laptop balanced precariously on her lap, with Wolfwood’s big, warm body pressed against her thigh. She was reading Cullen’s latest email, as he complained about the terrible coffee, the heat, and lack of worthwhile sweets at base. After their initial somewhat awkward meeting, the two had formed a strong friendship, bonding over their love of Mabari’s, coffee and surprisingly enough, baking. For the two months before Cullen’s deployment, they had taken to meeting at least once a week to get coffee and then to hike local trails with Wolfwood, talking about their lives, and swapping recipes. Their friendship had continued during the first six months of his deployment with emails, care packages, and video chatting. Or well, a special form of video chatting where Ember tried to keep Wolfwood from excitedly slobbering all over her computer as Cullen just laughed at his antics. She reread his email again and then closed her laptop with a heavy sigh, setting it off to the side.

Wolfwood raised his head and looked at her curiously, his expression silently asking her what was wrong. She rubbed the top of his head and then put her palms against his cheeks and stared into his dark chocolate eyes, trying to convey the seriousness of the situation.

“I’m telling you this in the strictest confidence Wolfwood. That means you can’t tell _anyone_ , understand.” His tongue darted out to lick her hands and he grinned happily. “I’m taking that as a yes, so here goes.” She paused and took a deep breath before saying in a rush, “I’ve got a crush on your human.” Wolfwood let out an excited bark and she could see his tail wagging furiously under the blanket. “Oh you like that do you?” He barked again, hopped off the couch and demonstrated his approval by spinning enthusiastically and dragging the blanket onto the floor. “Of course you do, but what do you know, you’re just a dog.”

Wolfwood grumbled and gave up being playful, instead he trotted over to shove his head under her hand, seeking attention and comforting her at the same time. Ember obliged him by rubbing his head and sighing again, burying the noise in his muscled neck. He leaned up against her and mimicked her huff too, as if commiserating her fate.

“So what do you say I do Wolfy? You know Cullen best after all and I’m sure he tells you all his deepest, darkest secrets. Do you think he likes me?” Wolfwood quickly leapt away and began nosing at her laptop, body squirming with a sudden surge of excitement. With each nudge of his wet nose he shoved it closer to the edge, until it was in danger of falling. “Wolfwood! Knock it off!” Ember admonished before pushing the computer back to safety. He just growled in frustration and barked at her, bowing down on his front legs, butt and tail wiggling madly. “Stop barking and use your words.”

He straightened and walked over to her computer again where he looked pointedly at her laptop and then at her, before repeating the process several times. When Ember just looked at him in confusion he huffed in exasperation and used his nose to delicately move the laptop this time. Then he mouthed at her hand and gently tugged it towards the laptop. Ember laughed when she realized what he wanted.

“You want me to write him and say what exactly? Well hey there Cullen your dog is a troubling making mutt and wants me to tell you that I’ve got a wildly embarrassing crush on you? Um, no thank you!” Wolfwood barked several times in rapid succession and began bouncing over the living room, leaping from couch to floor and running around like a lunatic. He kept barking at her and growling playfully, trying to convince her to write to Cullen in his bossy, wriggly way.

“Wolfwood, no. I’m sorry, but I just don’t see how it would work. Yes he’s absolutely gorgeous and kind and completely driven about his job in a way that is incredibly sexy, but we hardly know each other! And besides he’s half the world away right now.” She argued with the hound, who seemed to roll his eyes and sigh in irritation because of her avoidance. “I don’t even know if he feels the same way!” Wolfwood let out another dramatic moan of annoyance before turning his back on her and walking away without a backwards glance, apparently fed up with her half-hearted excuses. “Wolfy!” She cajoled, but he just let out one last disgruntled snuffle and disappeared into her bedroom. With an irked mumble of her own, Ember grabbed her laptop, flipped it open, and quickly pounded out an email.

 **To: Cullen S. Rutherford  
** **Subject: Random Question**

Hey Cullen, so if you couldn’t tell by the subject line, I have a random question. You moved back to Ferelden from the Free Marches right? Kirkwall was your last duty station if I remember right. So did you leave anyone there? Friends or family or anyone special? I was just curious. Talk to you later!

Em

Before she could talk herself out of it she hit send and then shut her computer with more force than was necessary while shouting in the direction of her bedroom,

“Happy now Wolfwood? You big, interfering tyrant!”

Curled up on her bed, Wolfwood lifted his head and smirked, his brown eyes crinkling in satisfaction as another piece fell into place.

. . . .

Cullen leaned back in his chair and stared at his laptop, reading the email for the eighth time, eyes not believing what they were seeing. He frowned and rubbed at the back of his neck again, a blush staining his cheeks as he reread two specific sentences again. _Did you leave anyone there? Friends or family or anyone special?_ What did she mean by that, _anyone special_? Did that mean what he thought it meant? No, it couldn’t. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, trying to decide how to respond, but then pulled back when a thought suddenly crossed his mind. What if she did mean _that_? Cullen couldn’t deny that the thought made his heart jump in his chest.

Cullen had been harboring a secret attraction to Ember since they had first met, and prior to her most recent email, he had no clue that she might feel the same way. For the past 6 months in his dingy little room in the officer’s barracks, he read and reread her emails and found himself missing her more than he thought possible, especially since they had known each other for less than a year. He fantasized about how she’d feel in his arms and he smiled when he thought of how she always smelled like her favorite almond butter cookies.

Still, Cullen wasn’t sure how smart wanting her was; he was an active duty major in an army that loved to bounce him around every two years, not to mention the yearlong deployments, and crappy work hours. This life was hard on couples and he’d seen his fair share of marriages fall apart from the strain. Going down this road could jeopardize their friendship, but this was their chance for something more. He didn’t know what _more_ , exactly was, and did he really want to risk failure with someone he valued so highly as a friend? One word crystallized in his mind: _yes_ , and with his heart in his throat he placed his fingers on the keys and typed.

**To: Ember Trevelyan  
Subject: Re: Random Question**

Em,

I fear I made few friends in Kirkwall and my family is in Ferelden. There was no one special. Not in Kirkwall.

Cullen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The almond butter cookies are more commonly known as snowballs, I personally love lemon and almond kinds. They're basically just delicious, sweet, addicting bite-sized, mounds made mostly out of butter and powdered sugar that seem so innocent you don't realize how deadly they are until you've eaten all of them. Not that I've ever done that. I mean who does something like that right? Ahem. Moving on.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is honor of my own dog, who is a sock obsessed kleptomaniac.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies for the delay. It felt incomplete so I was busy struggling to round it out, but here it is! Give me a shout out if you see any mistakes etc.

_Two weeks later_

Both Cullen and Ember were reluctant to mention the emails. It seemed safer to leave those things in cyberspace, but the words were burned into their respective brains and during their separate days, they internally reviewed them and wondered what the other meant. It became a source of tension between them, but they were loath to be the first to bring it up and instead let the words fester. Consequently they ignored it and the awkwardness that had begun to invade their emails and video chats.

What they didn’t factor in was Wolfwood, who had witnessed their relationship flourish from tentative friendship to budding romance and now he watched in dismay as it started to wither before realizing its full potential. The big Mabari was unwilling to let his foolhardy humans miss this rare chance at happiness without putting up some sort of a fight on their behalf. So, as Ember sat on the couch, laptop open on the coffee table with Cullen’s flushed, nervous face taking over the screen, Wolfwood disappeared into the bedroom. Ember watched his retreating form with narrowed eyes and vehemently thought, traitor, barely resisting the urge to desperately call him back.

“So how have things been going? I-I mean with Wolfwood.” He stuttered nervously, cursing himself for stumbling over his words.

“He’s been a little moody lately. I think he misses you.” Ember looked away and twisting the end of her loose pony tail around her finger, before continuing. “I was going to take him to the lake this weekend to see if that perks him up.”

“He loves the water but is a terrible swimmer. Don’t be surprised if he requires rescuing. I think I left you his life vest.” She laughed at the mental image Cullen painted and felt the vice that had been clamped around her heart loosen suddenly, a heady surge of affection overcoming all of her good sense.

“Cullen, I-” Ember paused and cleared her throat nervously, darting her eyes away again. Cullen leaned forward earnestly, as he sensed the change in her mood.

“Yes?” His voice dropped to a husky tenor, sending shivers across her skin.

“About my email.” She halted again and drew in a deep, fortifying breath before saying in a rush “I enjoyed spending time with you before you left and I think we should do it more often. When you get back. If you want.” Ember’s face was burning, but she forced herself to look at Cullen again, and Maker was she glad she did. Cullen’s face was covered with a happy smirk that distorted his scar and a rosy blush covered his cheeks, it was such a change from the serious expression he normally wore, that she smiled too.

“I’d like that.” Despite his smile and willing agreement, Ember had prepared herself for rejection with a self-deprecating speech about how it was all a terrible joke in a last ditch effort to save what was left of her pride, but then his quiet response finally registered in her head.

“Wait, what? Seriously?” He laughed and did that thing he did, where he rubbed self-consciously at the back of his neck and simultaneously made her knees go weak. It was a good thing she was already sitting or Ember might have melted right into the floor at the gleam of want in his eyes.

“Serious as a heart attack.”

“Oh. Okay. That’s good then, we should do that.” Cullen chuckled again and softly responded with,

“You said that.” It was Ember’s turn to blush and she did, but the moment was cut short when in a large brown flurry Wolfwood hurled himself into her lap with a scrap of hot pink and black lace dangling from his mouth. It looked suspiciously like one of Ember’s thongs. Wait, it was one of her thongs!

She let out a yelp of embarrassment and lunged at it, but Wolfwood was too quick, having anticipated her reaction. He leapt back and was standing just out of reach on the other side of the couch, vibrating with satisfaction while she heatedly threatened him.

“I will literally kill you Wolfwood!”

Ember could hear Cullen laughing in the background, but ignored him in her desperation to pry her trashy, delicate unmentionables from Wolfwood’s slobbery mouth. Ember rushed him, but he bounded back over the couch and in front of the camera, flashing the gaudy cloth for Cullen to admire again, who smirked and quirked his eyebrow in amusement.

“Will I get to see those when I get back?” He asked, his voice thick with laughter, teasing, and more than a little longing. Ember let out another strangled noise of mortification, neither confirming nor denying his request before diving at Wolfwood, who nimbly evaded her attack _again_. They disappeared off camera and all Cullen heard was a triumphant shout, a dismayed bark, then a loud crash that made the screen go fuzzy, and right before it went black Ember’s outraged exclamation of,

“Wolfwood!”

. . . .

Cullen lay on his bed with a book splayed open, spine up on his chest, not even pretending to read anymore. He had just gotten off a particularly brutal night shift and instead of sleeping, he was partaking in his new favorite pass time, daydreaming about Ember. Even he could admit that it was a new level of pathetic. With a frustrated sigh he tossed aside the book and grabbed his phone, and began flipping through the pictures she had sent him over the past six months. There were dozens of just Wolfwood, some of them together, and more recently she had started sending some of just her. There was one in particular that was his favorite; she was laying on her stomach in bed, wearing athletic shorts and a loose V-neck shirt. Her legs were bent at the knee with her feet in the air, and her bright red toes contrasting against Wolfwood’s fur as he lay sprawled at the foot of the bed.

Cullen felt guilty for noticing it, but the fabric of her shirt stretched and hugged the curve of her breasts and the opening dipped low enough to tease him with a hint of cleavage. It was just enough of a suggestion of her curves to make him want to see more, to make him wonder what she’d look like without the shirt on, topless against her sheets. Cullen couldn’t help the blush that spread across his cheeks when he realized that he was half hard and aroused, but then he looked at her face and he didn’t feel quite as embarrassed. She was wearing what could only be called a seductive grin and her eyes tempted him to think the thoughts that had plagued him since he had first seen the picture.  


He groaned and readjusted himself, ignoring the jolt of desire that shot through him from the glancing touch of his hand. He knew it wasn’t reasonable, but he blamed Ember and her bewitching curves and taunting lips for putting him in this state. With a sly grin Cullen switched on his phone and sent her a quick message, wondering if he could put her in the exact same position he was currently in. He chuckled as he waited for her response, vengeance would be his.  


. . . .  


Her phone pinged obnoxiously, making her flinch, but the loud tone alerted her to an incoming message from Cullen. She wiped her floury hands on a towel, grabbed the device and swiped at the screen, activating the app that let them text easily despite the distance between them. It had been their only means of communication since Wolfwood had broken her computer two weeks prior. 

**Cullen:** How’s your day going? ;) 

**Ember:** I’m making brownies and doing laundry. Boring stuff. 

**Cullen:** What kind of brownies? 

Ember laughed at his almost immediate response. Sometimes there was a lag between messages and a single conversation could go with hours between replies, but when it came to food he was always interested. 

**Ember:** Baileys’s Irish cream cheese brownies and of course you’d fixate on the food. :p 

**Cullen:** I could easily fixate on something different. 

Was it her wayward, horny imagination or was that more flirtatious than usual? It seemed perfectly innocent. Well, maybe not perfectly innocent, since she could hear him saying it in the same husky tone as “Will I get to see those when I get back?”, but that was her problem right? Right. She nibbled on her lower lip indecisively before tapping out a reply. 

**Ember:** Oh really? Like what exactly? ;) 

**Cullen:** Well I can think of one thing. One pink and black thing. 

**Ember:** You did not just bring that up again! I hate you. 

**Cullen:** No you don’t, you love it when I tease you. And besides now I’m DEFINITELY thinking about something else besides food. 

Ember was not misinterpreting that particular message. With a flirty grin in place that he couldn’t see she typed, 

**Ember:** You and me both. 

Cullen sat up in bed and grinned broadly at her simple four word message. He wanted to gloat victoriously, but instead he quickly formulated another teasing reply. 

**Cullen:** Wait, what are you talking about? 

**Ember:** I thought- What are you talking about? 

**Cullen:** I was talking about sending my laundry in. It’s a good thing I’m off shift for two days, because I’ve run out of clean shirts. I’ve been laying around my room practically naked. 

Ember knew damn well that he hadn’t been referring to laundry, but the mental image of Cullen without a shirt on, practically naked, took over every spare cell in her brain and that was all she could think about. Would he have scars? Like the one on his lip? How much hair would be on his chest and would there be a trail leading right down- her phone’s beep yanked her out of her fantasy and she looked at it to see another message from Cullen. She blushed and groaned, distinctly aware of the fact that she was a quivering mess of wet and horny, all thanks to Cullen. 

**Cullen:** You still there? 

**Ember:** I really do hate you. 

**Cullen:** What did I do now? ;) 

Of course he would act innocent and pretend like he had done nothing, she thought in frustration, meanwhile she was thinking increasingly dirty thoughts about him shirtless and her lacy unmentionables. Apparently their flirting and his being on the other side of the map were taking a toll on her, because she was seconds away from spontaneous combustion. 

Cullen on the other hand sprawled back in his bed, a smug smile covering his face as he waited patiently for her reply. She had been subtly teasing him for weeks and this was his payback. Not that it wasn’t affecting him too. Starting a long distance relationship made it difficult to deal with physical attractions, but he had absolutely no regrets about starting this particular conversation. 

**Ember:** Don’t you even dare act all innocent! You said things that made me think thoughts. I don’t like you. 

Cullen could practically see her fuming in her kitchen, probably covered in flour and pink from embarrassment, the image made him laugh as he responded. 

**Cullen:** I have no idea what you’re talking about and even if I did, I would say it was payback for the pictures you’ve been sending me. 

**Ember:** See you just admitted that you did this on purpose! And now I don’t know what you’re talking about. What pictures? ;) 

**Cullen:** And what exactly did I do on purpose hhhmm? And you know what pictures. Now who’s playing innocent? 

**Ember:** I already told you, you said things that made me think thoughts!!!!!! And I plead the fifth. :p 

**Cullen:** What kind of thoughts were you thinking? I was just talking about laundry ;) But I have to go shower, it’s been insanely hot and I’m tired of laying around in my boxer briefs. Talk to you later babe. 

Ember gaped and seethed at her now conspicuously silent phone. It sat dark and silent in her palm, boldly taunting her with its lack of a new message from Cullen. How dare he!? How dare he turn her on so completely with images of him shirtless and in the shower, water glistening off his body and then just leave? And then he acted like he had done nothing, even though they both knew he had done it on purpose. She growled at the device in her hand, before turning on her mixer again. The steady hum of its motor slightly soothed her frazzled nerves as she began wiping off the counter in an effort to distract herself from her raging lust. As she moved about the kitchen she muttered, 

“Just wait until I see that damn smug bastard again.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A short and sweet ending.

_5 months later_

Ember bounced nervously on her feet, alternating between checking the clock on the wall, her cellphone, and flicking back the curtains to peer into the driveway. Cullen’s arrival time had come and gone two hours ago, with no word from him. Wolfwood had sensed her agitation and was pacing restlessly beside her, letting out the occasional whine of unease.

“Don’t worry, he’ll be here Wolfy. He promised.” She soothed, stroking reassuringly from chin to chest, planting a kiss on top of his silky head. Wolfwood rubbed his head into her hand, more like a cat than a dog and tentatively licked her wrist. Together they cuddled on the floor, calming each other’s nerves which were raw and flustered from the unexpected wait. Unable to sit still anymore, Ember hopped up to resume her pacing, when she heard a vehicle pull into the drive and cut its engine.

She raced to the window and nearly pulled the curtain rod off the wall in her excitement as she yanked the curtains back. The sight of Cullen’s tall form stepping out of his truck had her ripping open the door and rushing out towards him. Wolfwood beat her to him however, the big Mabari brushing past her and nearly tripping her as he raced forwards. His hefty body plowed into Cullen who buckled under the dog’s unexpected weight and collapsed on the ground with a grunt and a thump.

“Wolfwood!” He laughed, trying to push the Mabari to the side, but Wolfwood refused to budge from his perch which was squarely on Cullen’s chest, joyously licking at his face. “You’re crushing me.” Wolfwood huffed in indignation and slid to the side, landing on the ground and pushing his face into Cullen’s chest. Cullen obliged the big dog by wrapping his arms around him and hugging him tightly for a second, which was all Wolfwood would allow. He was almost immediately squirming away and with a few last licks at Cullen he trotted behind Ember and began using his broad head to bump her closer to Cullen. 

“I’m going, I’m going.” She exclaimed, reaching out to help Cullen to his feet. He dusted off his jeans and then pulled her closer, keeping a firm grip on her elbows. They stared at each other wordlessly, until Ember was overcome with a wave of nervousness and dropped her eyes to stare resolutely at his belly button as she said morosely, “You’re late.” She heard the smile in his voice when he responded.

“My flight was delayed and I didn’t have a phone. I’m sorry. I need to work on my telepathic communication skills.” His playful chuckle made her glare up at him. 

“I was worried! We both were! Wolfy was convinced you were never coming back.” Wolfwood cocked his head dramatically and whined, his suspicious expression calling Ember’s bluff. Cullen ran his hand up her arm, cupping her jaw and pushing loose hair behind her ear. He could feel her pulse racing below his fingertips as they tentatively brushed against her neck.

“Wolfy was worried huh?” She nodded, but didn’t respond, dropping her gaze to focus intently on his stomach again. “Ember.” The sound of her name, husky and warm off his lips made her look up and when she did he pressed a soft kiss to her mouth. She gasped in surprise and he moaned quietly into her, kissing her again before she mumbled against his lips.

“We barely know each other.” Cullen grinned and pulled back, his lips glancing along her jaw and up to her ear, shivers trailing across her skin after his wandering mouth. 

“You’re wrong.” He whispered. “We know each other and I know you. I know you always smell like those almond cookies and that you are not a morning person. I know how you like your coffee, with that void-taken creamer you insist on using. I know you love to feel the wind against your face and that you love Wolfwood. I know that I love you and I think that you could possibly love me too.” Ember sagged against him and pressed her forehead to his chest, feeling his arms wrap around her. He sighed and held her tight, ignoring Wolfwood who whimpered apprehensively at their feet, unsure of the outcome of his declaration.

“I hate it when you’re right.” She finally muttered, practically glaring up at him. He just grinned and stole another quick kiss, leaving her mouth as she chased after him for one more. “But that doesn’t mean that I’m just going to climb in bed with you!” Ember protested hotly in an attempt to deny their mutual attraction, even as her hands started to wander across his back, nimble fingers slipping under his shirt to press against warm skin. Cullen started to kiss his way across her neck again, tongue teasing her earlobe and hands pulling her hips flush against his, grinding his growing arousal against her.

“Of course not. Can’t have people thinking you aren’t a good girl. Are you wearing those panties? The black and pink ones?” They both laughed at his teasing and Cullen started guiding her backwards as their mouths met again and hands tangled against each other. He kicked the front door shut behind Wolfwood, who snuck in at the last second. Ignoring the Mabari, Ember took over, pulling Cullen towards the beckoning doorway to her bedroom with her hands hooked in the waistline of his jeans, fingers “accidentally” brushing against his erection. Their mouths were engaged in a fierce battle and they only paused to moan or gasp in pleasure as tongues danced against each other. Once they reached the bedroom, they disappeared inside, the door swinging shut behind them leaving Wolfwood in the living room.

Wolfwood curled up on the couch, a wide grin of satisfaction across his face. He cocked his head at the odd sounds coming from the bedroom; listening to groans and thuds, and then the burst of laughter from his humans, before settling back down in contentment. He was smugly pleased with how his matchmaking had worked out. Just a little nudge here, a stolen thong there, and his two favorite humans in the world were together at last.

**Author's Note:**

> Shameless plug, but Dogs on Deployment is an actual thing and a really good cause that helps soldiers find temporary homes for their pets for unavoidable situations like deployments and TDY.


End file.
